Grounded plane with Indians free to fly out of France

A plane carrying several Indian passengers detained near Paris due to suspected human trafficking is free to leave today, a French court ruled on Sunday. But it is not clear if the plane will return to India. The Nicaragua-bound charter plane has 303 passengers, mostly Indians and at least 11 unaccompanied minors. An anonymous tip-off that they were potential victims of human trafficking led to its grounding at the Vatry airport when it arrived from Dubai for refuelling. French prosecutors on Sunday allowed the Airbus A340 to leave France after questioning the passengers for two days, the local prefecture said in a statement, adding that a full approval for their departure is expected today. The statement did not mention what will be their destination. Francois Procureur, head of the local bar association, said at a press conference that the passengers would be flown to India. There has been no statement from Indian authorities confirming the same. French courts have the authority to extend detention of foreign nationals held in the country on arrival. A judge can extend their detention for eight days at once and up to 26 days in total in exceptional case. @@@@@